Summertime Fun

I love my kids. 

I know that sounds like "duh, of course you do," but lately it seems I've been dwelling on the everyday ho-hum of life. We've been so busy with the house and work and just trying to get through this crazy time. Sometimes you forget to stop and enjoy all the little moments, even if it is just fixing a meal or giving them a bath. So, today (it was actually Saturday) when I saw my girls running and splashing and playing in the water, I just thought "Wow, I just love them so much. Look how much fun they are having." They reminded me of childhood and carefree dreams and just enjoying the moments we're in. I just couldn't help by smile. I had as much fun watching them be little as they did playing around. I thank God for them and for this time we have together. It will never seem long enough. So, I've renewed my pledge to myself and to my family to enjoy every day like it were our last. 

Okay, enough serious talk. So, after they had fun playing around and decided it was time to get out of the water awhile, we got their suits off and MJ laid down on her towel (she was dressed). Emma, however, headed back to the pool for a little skinny dipping (she was not dressed!) So, she splashed around for a little bit before I got her corralled and clothed again. She went down for a nap and later in the afternoon after she woke up she headed straight for the pool again-only this time with clothes on. That kid! She thought it was so funny. You gotta love her--and I do. 

Random pics

Josh had some gift cards and birthday cash, so he got us a Nintendo Wii. We've all taken a turn at it and I must admit it is pretty fun. Here, he and MJ were playing MarioKart and having a great time. 

Emma has learned how to walk down stairs by herself. It's a little scary for me still, but I usually stand at the top or bottom while she goes though. She looks like such a big girl. 

We got the new carpet in the house. It looks so nice and really makes the house look complete. We've started moving a few things and I should finish the trim painting this week. 

Last week at library the story was about a ladybug so the kids made masks for the their craft. Emma actually let me put it on her. I thought she looked pretty cute. 

I thought I better get caught up here a little. The other day I went in and found Emma like this after her nap. She had been playing around before she fell asleep and put her coat on. It was so funny!

I'm an Aunt, again!

I just wanted to post and introduce you to our new niece, Hailey Jo Hampton. She was born Thursday, June 26 at 2:22 a.m. Lacey, Clay, Hailey and big sister Tess are all doing great. We can't wait to go see them this summer. 

Vacation Bible School

Mackenzie and Emma both enjoyed the program at VBS last Friday. The kids performed the songs they learned and showed a slide show from the week. Emma marched right up there and joined in too. 

Sprinklers 2

Sprinklers

Last week we had some really warm days so I told Mackenzie she could run in the sprinkler. She put her bathing suit on and got right in there. I didn't think Emma would like the water, but when I came back with the camera she was soaked. She had run through the water with her clothes on! They both had a lot of fun.

Countertops

The cabinets and countertops are in now. That piece that sticks up will hide the stove (we haven't moved it yet). Before there was no counter out behind it, so this is a major improvement on design and functionality. It's so nice to see things coming together. Today, the electricians were out to wire the dishwasher and check some things. The finish guy also came to replace baseboard and doors. 

It's been a busy week. I had a story due Monday and was frantic about trying to get it done amongst getting the floor finished that day too. I also had a magazine issue due this week, but it was sent to the printer today so I feel a load off at least for awhile. Mackenzie has enjoyed spending each morning this week at Vacation Bible School. My friend Lisa took her two mornings (thanks again Lisa!) and Michelle has watched the girls the last two days. I know they had lots of fun with her. Yesterday they enjoyed a picnic at the park and today they went swimming in Emma's new pool she got for her birthday. Tomorrow I plan on going with MJ so I'm looking forward to that. I really missed sharing the week with her, but we won't have house things going on next summer (at least I hope not!). Emma will be able to go next year too. The carpet will be installed next Thursday so it is possibly we could start moving next weekend. Josh thinks I'm crazy to say that, but he did start packing some of his things tonight. Maybe I am crazy because I really haven't started packing, but after the carpet is in there won't be much holding us back. I have to finish painting the trim once it's in, but that should be by Monday. Hopefully we can get a lot sorted through and packed next week. It's hard to believe we're so close to finally moving. Yeah!

Dill-icious Potato Salad

As promised I'm posting the new salad recipe we tried this weekend. I've never made one with red potatoes, but this was great. Definitely a different taste from normal picnic potato salad, and I think even better. It kind of has an upscale taste if that makes any sense. 

Dill-icious Potato Salad-I have to give credit to the Penzey's Spice catalog for this although I didn't use their spices. The sauce is a little runnier than a traditional one probably because of the vinegar. I think this would make a great green salad dressing too. 

3 lbs. red potatoes

1 TB lemon pepper

1-2 tsp. dill weed (I just realized I put in 1 TB. Oops! But, even that wasn't too dilly for us.)

1 tsp. Aleppo pepper (not sure what that is so I used black pepper)

2 TB. water (could eliminate to make less runny)

1/4 cup light mayonnaise (I used the real stuff, not Miracle Whip)

1/4 cup olive oil (I used a little less)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 TB. honey

1 TB. prepared Dijon-style mustard (I used Grey Poupon)

clean and cut the potatoes into rounds; place in kettle of cold water. Bring to boil and cook 10-12 minutes, until fork tender. Rinse and return to empty pot on warm stove-top briefly, covered, to dry. While potatoes are cooking, cover the spices with the water in a roomy bowl. Let stand 3 minutes to wake up the spice flavor (a Penzey's thing, I guess). Add the mayo, oil, vinegar, honey and mustard to the bowl. Whisk vigorously to combine. Add potatoes, toss to coat. Serve warm or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to eat. Toss again before eating. We ate it warm the first night and cold after that. It was good both ways. 

Enjoy!

Cabinets

Here are the new cabinets that were installed today. The guy will come back tomorrow to finish the countertops and backsplash. Very exciting!

House update

Last Wednesday, Jared and Stephanie came out to help me get started on the floor. We were able to get the laundry room and to the end of the kitchen finished. It was a big help getting that first part going. I did the rest of it: dining room, entry, hall and office, finishing up yesterday. Thank goodness! I am so glad to be finished with that. We are really pleased with how it looks. Hopefully it's as durable as it says it is. Today, the kitchen cabinets are going in (thus the boxes in the photos). The carpet should go in the end of the week or first of next week. We have the basement shower walls and something fixtures left after that. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel! We're hoping to be moved by the end of June/first of July. I have plans for a 4th of July BBQ, so that's my goal!! 

Happy Father's Day

I took some pictures of Josh and the girls on Sunday. I had picked them up after staying with their Nana for the weekend. Mackenzie was so excited when I got there and told me it was Father's Day and we had to get home to spend the rest of the day with dad. She had a big, elaborate plan for a party too. We ran by the store and got some steaks to grill (yes, I know that sounds odd coming from a beef ranch, but I didn't have anything thawed out.) He also wanted to try a new potato salad recipe (It turned out great so I'll try to post it later.) so I needed a couple things for it. When we got home, MJ set the table, made name tags for our seats and helped me with dinner. She kept saying it was going to be the best Father's Day ever. After awhile Emma would get into all the things MJ was setting up. So, then she would say this is going to be the worst Father's Day ever {because Emma's ruining everything!} It did turn out to be a nice meal though. The girls had picked out some dvds for him and MJ even found a Barbie Father's Day card. Wooee, Josh was excited about that let me tell ya! I hope he realizes how special he is to all of us. We wouldn't know what to do without him. 

I love you honey!

Just a few more pics to show off my girls and the new siding on the house. I can already see us taking "first day of school" photos on these steps. 

Teamwork

The girls learned this new trick from Matt when he was babysitting the other day. Now, they can ride the tricycle together. 

MJ's Tea Party

MJ decided it was about time for another tea party. So she and Emma put on their party clothes. She said she wanted me to take pictures of her and her daughter (the Cabbage Patch kid) and her granddaughter (the Care Bear). The CPK was mine; the bear hers. Isn't it funny how the toys we played with are what our kids are playing with? Is that what we'd call retro? She just loves being a little mother. They made a big mess in the living room, but they had fun!

Fun with stickers

The other night Emma came out of the bedroom with stickers all over herself. I had taken her shirt off (can't remember what for. I probably was going to give her a bath or put pjs on and got distracted). Anyway, here she comes. I told her she had stickers on her belly and she was so silly. I said stickers don't go on your belly, so she decided she'd put them on the wall. It was cute, but I told her stickers don't go on the wall and I got her a piece of paper. She was very proud of her masterpiece and we put it on the fridge.